Cēsis municipality: drunk man drove child on unregistered quad bike, tried to flee police
Police in Cēsis municipality chased down and arrested a quad bike driver who was intoxicated, carrying a child, and tried to escape officers. He now faces a criminal case and several administrative violation proceedings.
On August 18, officers from the State Police Vidzeme regional department's Southern Vidzeme unit stopped a quad bike driver in the Vaive parish of Cēsis municipality after he tried to flee and turned out to be heavily intoxicated.
The chase
While monitoring traffic, police spotted a quad bike whose driver wore no helmet and was carrying a child. When officers activated their lights and siren and signaled him to stop, the man ignored the order and fled instead. To avoid endangering the child, the patrol car did not drive directly alongside the quad bike but followed at a distance, repeatedly calling on the driver to stop.
During the chase, the man drove onto a farm property, stopped the vehicle, got out and tried to run on foot, but officers quickly caught him. The child was then handed over to the mother.
Violations found
A breath test showed the man had been driving with a blood alcohol level of 2.69 per mille. He also turned out to have no valid driver's license obtained through proper procedure.
A criminal case has been opened against him for driving under the influence, along with three separate administrative violation proceedings: for not wearing a fastened helmet, for lacking mandatory civil liability insurance, and for operating an unregistered vehicle on public roads.
Police reiterated that quad bike riders and passengers must observe speed limits and wear helmets, noting that such vehicles lack a protective cabin or seatbelts, leaving occupants especially vulnerable in a crash.
